Portable fence



W. E. DAVIS. PORTABLE FENCE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-3, I9I9.

1,341,2 4 Patented May25,1920.

WILLIAM E. DAVIS, F MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY.

PORTABLE FENCE.

Application filed September 3, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

, Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. Dav s, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Morristown, county of Morris, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Fences, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved portable fence, being preferably made of wood, and is of the type that comprises posts adapted to rest on the ground and supporting panels, these panels being supported at their ends on the posts and being held against longitudinal movement and down ward movement.

The invention relates to a fence of this kind which can be formed as a straight fence, which can be assembled to form what is called a snake fence, that is, the panels being arranged in zig-zag form relative to each other, and in which the same posts are used on the corners as are used on the straight-away part of the fence.

The invention is further designed to provide a fence of this kind which will stand. up under severe wind pressure, which 118 cheap to make, which can be quickly put up or taken down and which can be arranged to conform to any desired outline of mclosure in a very short space of time.

This invention is designed particularly to be an improvement over such fence as is illustrated and described in my Patent No. 1,025,459, issued May 5, 1914:, in that the resent fence can be arranged in zig-zag $0110 and in which excessive lon itudinal strains on the fence are more adequately provided for.

The invention is. illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which a section of my improved fence is. illustrated, Figure 1 being a top view of two supports, apanel and the ends of two other panels. Fig. 2 s an elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1,. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a post and of the rails and one anel. Fig. 4 is an elevation of a post an the ends of ad acent panels when placed on inclined ground, and Fig. is a diagrammatic plan showing how the elements are located when forming a zigzag or snake fence.

In the form shown each post consists of vertical standards 10 and 11, which are con.- nected by a horizontal brace 12, near the Specification of Letters l'atent.

Patented May 25, 1920.

Serial No. 321,340.

bottom of the post, each standard and each edge of the horizontal brace being recessed to receive each other, and inclinedbraces l8 and 1 1 being secured at their top ends to the outside faces of the "ertical standards, and near their bottoms to opposite sides the horizontal brace 12. Such connections a re usually in the form of screws or pins 15, screws or pins 16 being used to secure the inclined braces to the standards.

The abutting of these parts, coupled with the slight compressibility or' flexibility of the wood used, permits a vertical movement of one standard relative to the other and also a slight tilting of the horizontal race. relative to the inclined braces, and also a limited movement between the inclined braces and the vertical standards.

The standards 10 and 11 act to maintain the supports 17, which are preferably connected to the standards so that there is a slight pivotal movement between them, the pins or screws 18 and 19 indicating such connection. I may also provide an additional vertical brace. 20. The braces 10 and 20 are on one side of the support 17 and the central support on the other side so that they are separated by the width of the supports and are also spaced lengthwise of the fence. The supports are provided at their ends with raised portions, this being done by recessing the central part of each support so as to form a raised nose or projection 21 on each end of each support, the inner wall or edge 22 of each recess being vertical and being preferably arranged so that they are separated by a distance slightly greater than the distance between the opposed edges of the standards 10 and 20. The recessed portion or notch 23 of each support is made deep enough to provide for a proper grasping of the rail at the raised ends of the supports, the support being wide enough to provide for enough ma terial to permit its being pivoted by the connection 18. The standard 20 is secured to the supports by pins or screws 2,4.

The fence proper consists of panels, which panels comprise rails 25, the rails. 25 being recessed or notched, as at 26, to receive the raised ends 21 of the supports, these notches 26 being preferably arranged at a distance from the, end of the rail, so that when the rail is placed on a support and the adjacent post is shifted to meet a grade on the surface, the panels can be similarly altered so as to adjust themselves to the grade desired. It will be seen that when rails are placed withinthe support to construct the fence, "they are held against downward movement bythe supports and against any side movement by the standards, and against longitudinal movement by reason of the raised I, ends of the supports and also by reason of the alined rails abutting.

IThe rails and the supports, when the fence is a straight-away fence, he in substantially the same vertical plane and the ,fence presents aneat appearance.

., To give a better finish to the fence 1 prefer to provide each of the panels with a top rail 30, the cleats 27, 28 and 29 terminating just a little short of the bottom face of the ;top rail when the panel is horizontal, so

not to interfere with the tilting of the rails relative to the standards.

In this form of fence the post can be used in a straight-away fence or it can be I used on a corner, the left hand end of Fig. 1

' illustrating in dotted outline the end of a panel installed between the central standard and an end standard of the post perpendicular to the central panel, thus illustrating the facility with which a corner of the fence can .be constructed. The spacing of the standards is such that a panel can be swung from a position in alinement w1th the supports toward the central standard, thus permitting of angular dispositions of the panels, and in Fig. 5 I illustrate panels placed on the supports in zig-zag formation to form what is known ordinarily as a snake fence, and this'type of fence is particularly stable in localities where high winds can be expected, since this form of fence stands up against very severe wind pressure. No alteration of the parts of the fence are necessary either in forming corners or 1n changing the fence from a straight-away fence to a snake fence.

- It will be understood that minor changes canbe made in the form of the parts that goto make up this fence without departing from the scope of the invention.

.1 Icla-imn i fence comprising posts having vertical -standards, horizontal supports pivotally connected to the standards whereby the supports can be tilted, and rails resting on the supports and held thereby against longitudinal movement. 5

2. A fence comprising posts having vertical standards, horizontal supports pivotally connected to the standards whereby the supports can be tilted, rails resting on the supports, and coacting means on the rails and the supports to hold the rails against longitudinal movement and so disposed that when so held the ends of alined rails abut.

3. A fence comprising posts having vertical standards, horizontal supports pivoted to the standards so that the standards are on opposite sides of the supports, the supports having recessed portions forming raised ends, and rails with recesses to be placed over the raised ends, alined rails having their ends abutting when the rails are in position.

4. A fence comprising vertical standards and horizontal supports, the supports being secured to the standards, whereby the standards are separated by the Width of the support and spaced apart lengthwise of the supports, the supports having raised ends with vertical inner faces, and rails to fit between the standards and recessed to fit over the raised ends with the ends of alined rails abutting.

5. A fence consisting of posts having horizontal supports, rails resting on the supports, the rails and supports being notched to receive each other to prevent downward or longitudinal movement of the rails, the rails and supports lying in the same vertical plane.

6. A fence consisting of posts, each post having end standards and a vertical central standard, supports secured to the standards, the end standards being on the side of the supports opposite to the central vertical standard, the supports having a recessed central portion to form raised ends on the supports, rails recessed to receive the raised ends of the supports and to lie between the standards so that the supports and the rails are in the same vertical plane, the end standards being spaced from the central standard so that the rails can rest transversely on the supports between the standards, the standards being separated by a distance less than the distance between the raised ends of the supports.

7. In a fence, a post consisting of vertical standards, parallel supports pivotally connected to the standards, the standards being secured to opposite sides of the supports, whereby they are spaced apart transversely, a horizontal transverse brace into which the ends of the standards project, and inclined braces secured at their tops to the outside faces of the standards and pivotally secured near their lower ends to the'outer ends of the horizontal brace and on opposite sides thereof, whereby limited pivotal action is possible between the standards and the supports, the standards and the braces, and the inclined braces relative to the horizontal brace.

8. A fence comprisin posts having vertical end standards and a vertical central standard spaced apart lengthwise of the fence, supports secured to the standards and supporting them transversely of the fence, each support having a recessed central portion with vertical ends to form raised ends on the supports, the ends of the recessed portions being farther apart than the distance between the inner edges of the end standards, panels having projecting rails spaced apart to coincide with the spacing of the supports, the rails when resting on the supports having their ends abutting and having recesses to receive the raised ends of the supports, the supports and the rails lying in the same vertical plane, means for connecting the supports and the standards to permit a limited pivotal movement between them, and means for securing the rails with a limited vertical movement so that the panels can be inclined while the standards remain vertical.

9. A fence comprising posts having end standards on one side thereof and a central standard on the other side thereof and spaced apart lengthwise of the fence, supports secured between the standards, and rails resting on the supports, the rails being notched to receive the supports, whereby the rails can rest on the supports in the same vertical plane and be swung thereon to a position perpendicular to the plane of said supports.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereto set my hand this 28th day of August, 1919.

WILLIAM DAVIS. 

